


Locked Away

by kiyala



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Chocolate Box Treat, M/M, Magic School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 19:26:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13665720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: From the moment they meet, Akashi is curious to know what Himuro has hidden away in his left eye.





	Locked Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sannlykke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sannlykke/gifts).



It's his posture, Akashi thinks to himself from the balcony. _Himuro Tatsuya_ , Akashi knows the name, already seared into his mind because he wouldn't be here unless there was something about him that made him matter, but it's taken just a glance and he's already been set apart from the rest in a way that can't be reversed, and can't be hidden. 

There's precision in the very way he holds himself. His very existence is performative, in an open courtyard such as this where there are any number of eyes on him. There's control in each step he takes, his back straight, his shoulders a smooth downward slope, made for deflecting questions and letting them roll right off him unanswered. Even from this distance, Akashi can see the inscrutable mask that Himuro wears, neutral with the slightest upward curve of his lips that could be mistaken for a friendly smile by those who didn't know well enough to see the sharp glint in his eye, like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

Another thing that catches Akashi's attention: the fact that Himuro only keeps one eye visible, the other hidden away behind the carefully arranged fall of his hair. Akashi already knows that nothing Himuro does is accidental, and there must be something to it, a reason to keep it unseen, the same way there's a reason Akashi's eyes are mismatched. 

From the crowded courtyard, Himuro looks up directly at Akashi, holding his gaze for far longer than he has any right to. Akashi stares back down at him, determined that next time Himuro looks at him, his head won't be raised so high.

 

 

It's a full day later that they cross paths. Himuro meets his eyes steadily this time too, and it's interesting that he should be so bold when there's insecurity etched into every fibre of his being. Akashi wouldn't typically let this slide, but he notices the way that Himuro is looking at his left eye with a curiosity that he can't help but feel in return. 

"Sit with me," Akashi decides, and Himuro gives him a smile.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm afraid I need to go back to my own work."

"Himuro Tatsuya," Akashi says, before Himuro can brush past him. "Sit with me."

For a moment, Himuro's smile is sharp enough to cut glass. "My, aren't you demanding?"

He speaks in a way that is carefully designed to make Akashi feel like a child. He's all hidden barbs, trying to find a way under Akashi's skin, but Akashi reminds himself that he is made of marble. He's made himself impossible to needle. He isn't going to give into the likes of someone like Himuro. 

"It's of no consequence if you choose not to sit after all." The lie leaves Akashi's tongue as smoothly as any other, but there's something in the way Himuro's mouth twitches that tells him that he isn't as successful this time. No mind, Akashi thinks to himself, and changes tactic, looking directly into Himuro's eye. "I'm just curious about what part of you that you've chosen to lock away in that eye of yours."

If Himuro's smile could cut glass, the sudden fire in his expression would melt it. "I think it's far too early for a conversation like that, don't you agree, Seijuurou?"

Here is what Akashi knows about Himuro: he's a foreigner who has thoroughly learned every single spellbook he has been able to get his hands on, who thinks he's hiding his insecurities when he's wearing them on his sleeve, who loves magic more than it loves him. He's better at magic than most students who have been accepted into this university, but it's not enough for him and Akashi already knows that it never will be. 

Akashi also knows that Himuro is using his first name on purpose, being deliberately disrespectful, evidenced in the way his grin grows sharper before he turns and walks away. 

Watching him go, Akashi takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. 

Himuro doesn't even look over his shoulder, his head held high.

 

 

Himuro is placed among the elite, where he does not belong. It's a disaster waiting to happen and Akashi seems to be the only one who can see it. He keeps it to himself, curious to watch it play out and unconcerned about the effects it will have. At best, Himuro will prove himself better than Akashi's assessment of him. At worst, Akashi will have the opportunity to learn something new. It's a matter of time, and Akashi can be patient when he needs to be. 

For his part, Himuro seems to be just as aware that he's somewhere he shouldn't be. He takes it as a challenge, almost as an insult, like he's being watched and assessed to see if he fails. He catches Akashi's eye far too many times to believe otherwise and each time, there's the stiffness in his shoulders, the involuntary twitch of his left hand, up to his face and then away again like he's that little bit closer to showing Akashi what he's truly waiting to see. 

"Are you waiting for me to fail, Seijuurou?" he asks one afternoon, when they cross paths in the library. Himuro's arms are weighed down by spellbooks that he'll be up all night practicing until he can cast every spell written into them with such precision that he could fool anyone else into thinking that it just comes naturally to him.

"No more than you are," Akashi replies, ignoring the use of his given name and instead savouring the sour downward turn of Himuro's lips. "Do your best, Tatsuya."

In the end, Himuro doesn't keep him waiting very long. All it takes is one push, but Akashi has to concede that it's a very specific kind of push, and not one that he could manufacture.

It's because of Kagami Taiga. Akashi knows the name, just as he knows the name of anyone with enough magical ability to warrant consideration. He doesn't attend this university, but he's on a televised magic duel and Akashi thought nothing of it at the time, but Himuro's reaction makes him wish that he could have been there to watch Himuro watching it. 

There's history between them. Akashi doesn't even need to know the details to know that it's true. It's there in the dark hunger that fills Himuro afterwards, approaching their classes with a fire that just won't be extinguished. He challenges his classmates to duels, moving from one to another and to an outsider, it looks like one flawless victory after another. Himuro is, after all, dedicated to the illusion of perfection. 

Akashi, however, can see the cracks. He can see the way it's taking more and more out of Himuro with each duel, and he it makes him want to keep watching. 

In retrospect, perhaps he should have been better prepared for this.

When Himuro breaks, it isn't subtle, it isn't beautiful, it isn't any of the things he spends so much of his time convincing the world that he is.

Instead, he becomes a monster.

Akashi hears about it through the panic that ripples through the entire student body, a rumour that quickly turns into a panic, about people losing their magic ability entirely. He follows it to its source; Himuro standing in the duelling hall, his magic crackling across his skin in black sparks, his hair pushed back to reveal that his left eye is nothing but a black pit of emptiness. 

Standing at the door, Akashi muses to himself that he's finally found the answer to what Himuro has been so carefully kept locked away all this time. It's his fault, draining everyone around him of their abilities in a bitter attempt to level out the playing field.

Akashi steps forward and doesn't consider, for even a moment, that Himuro's ability can touch him. Not even when Himuro turns to him, angry and bitter and so broken that Akashi wants to laugh at the thought that he could ever convince anyone that he was anything more than this. 

"Know your place," Akashi speaks, in a voice that it is and someone else's at the same time. "And lower your head. I've tolerated this for far too long."

Akashi doesn't have a power as much as he has a birthright: dominion, over all else around him. He can put Himuro back into place, until this part of him is sealed away once again. He can rise where others have fallen, and Himuro knows it, Himuro _hates_ it, baring his teeth and gathering his magic to push against Akashi, to resist everything that he is.

It's a resistance that Akashi does not expect. It surprises him, for a moment, and Himuro uses that to his advantage, pushing harder until Akashi is stumbling back under the magical strain, his anger making up for their difference in ability. 

"Enough," Akashi commands, and reminds himself of who he is, what he's become, in order to survive. He is an emperor, and Himuro is no more than a peasant before him. With that thought, he pushes until he finds his footing and then pushes even more, until Himuro is the one stumbling backwards, overpowered and unable to control the situation. He pushes until he's standing over Himuro, whose hair has fallen neatly back into place, his visible eye glassy, his breath coming out in rasps. 

"Seijuurou," he says quietly, as Akashi leans over him. He glances at the other fallen students in the duelling hall. "Their magic will return. I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," Akashi interrupts. He doesn't care about the other students. He hooks Himuro's hand over his shoulders and helps him up. "I imagine you need to rest."

Himuro is taller than him, and negotiating their way out of the duelling hall is more awkward than Akashi would like. He should be leaving this to someone else, who is better suited to this sort of thing. He doesn't let go. Not even when Himuro's head lolls to the side, resting against his.

"Why are you doing this?" Himuro asks, insightful in the way Akashi wishes he wasn't. 

"I've seen your eye," Akashi replies, like it's the only explanation he needs.

"It's not an eye," Himuro laughs. "It's a curse." 

_So am I_ , Akashi thinks, but he's silent as he keeps walking, supporting Himuro's weight. "Either way, Tatsuya. It's a part of you, and it's interesting enough to hold my attention."

Huffing out a quiet laugh, Himuro rests his head against Akashi's more deliberately this time. Perhaps Himuro was present enough to realise his magic could push against Akashi's, however briefly. Akashi pushes the thought from his mind. 

"If you say so, Seijuurou."


End file.
